The Champs

Truly an amazing season for the Celtics. They were the best team in the league since the first week of the season, and even though they struggled a little at the beginning of the playoffs, they proved how dominant they were against the West's best team in the Lakers. Because of the way the Celtics turned their fortunes around- trading a ton of assets for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, two proven stars- I wouldn't be surprised to see at least one team try to pull off something similar this off-season. Also, since the Celtics won with such a dominant defense, I'd also expect several teams to really try and commit themselves on the defensive end over the summer. The NBA, like the NFL, is a copycat league, and when one team proves they can win a certain way, other teams are bound to follow. 

As for the "Big 3" that Boston put together, I think this season and championship really solidifies the legacies of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, who were all All-Stars many times over but had never even reached the NBA Finals before this year. 

Ray Allen put his name in the short list of the best shooters of all time. He already held the single season record for most 3 pointers made, as well as being second on the all-time list, and his 22 3's in the Finals was a Finals record. It also showed that while he could never win a championship if he was the team's best player, that he was capable of carrying a team for stretches, as he did for this Celtics team, as well as being a vital cog in a championship team. 

Kevin Garnett has his place in history as one of the most dominant big men of all time, especially on the defensive end. Although his record of getting it done in the postseason still isn't phenomenal- there were times throughout the playoffs where the Celtics really needed more from KG- his 26 points and 14 rebounds in the Game 6 clincher really went a long way in quieting those critics. But more importantly, it was because of Garnett that the Celtics were the best team in the league in the regular season. He changed the culture in Boston, adding an intimidation factor as well as a tremendous defensive presence that really made them a force to be reckoned with.

Finally, Paul Pierce firmly added his name as one of the greatest Celtics of all time. Already high up statistically for most of the franchise's records, Pierce put together one of the most remarkable playoff runs in Celtics history. Boston is the only place that Pierce has ever played, and he takes great pride in being a Boston Celtic. In this era of the NBA, it is extremely rare for any player, let alone a star player, to be on one team his entire career. Besides Pierce, the only players that I can think of that have played for the same team in their career (minimum of 8 years) are Kobe with the Lakers, and Tim Duncan on the Spurs. KG fell into that category before this season, and there are a handful of players in the 5-6 year range, but to do it for as long as Pierce has is really hard to do. It was a tremendous accomplishment for Pierce, and I know that there's nobody happier than him right now.

Can they do it again next year? Before the inevitable off-season shakeup, my best guess is that the Celtics will at least make it back to the Finals next season. The Big 3 probably has one, maybe 2 good years left in them, and their other 2 starters, Rondo and Perkins, are only going to get better. But it is very likely that they lose the invaluable James Posey, and they probably won't have PJ Brown or Sam Cassell back either. That said, I can't see their win total dropping too far below 60, if at all, and certainly see them as the team to beat right now.